Chapter 21

714 FNM (24 BBY)

Month 9

Mandalore, Sundari Royal Palace

Satine Kryze

"Just when we thought the situation couldn't get more complicated, this happens." Prime Minister Almec said as he looked at the holoprojector that had been showing us the transmission from Gargon. I'd been holding a meeting with him and the Jedi in the Royal Palace to discuss what to do about this situation, when the Royal Guard assigned to monitor transmissions from Gargon notified us of another broadcast. Based on what we were seeing, there seemed to be a full scale revolt going on.

Given that it was important to know what was going on, I had ordered the transmission routed to the room's holo-projector. As a result we had a front row seat to witness the real White Silver making her debut as a political leader.

There were many things I expected to happen today but watching Tanya, because that's who was under that helmet I am not a fool, beat up a dictator and basically declared me as the True Mand'alor was not one of them. On the one hand, I felt a deep well of anger because she had gone behind my back and engaged in unwarranted violence where she could have been killed in all sorts of ways, as demonstrated when I accidentally snapped the expensive wine glass I was holding when the two came to blows on the screen. Luckily, I was able to deflect suspicion by saying that I merely startled due to the sudden violence on screen. On the other hand, I was somewhat proud of her. The philosophy she had espoused was still developing; with the goal of creating a middle ground that would be acceptable for both sides. Her recent display made it quite clear that the middle ground that she was proposing saw me as the true Mand'alor and I did my best to show that I have attempted to integrate some of their ideology into my policies.

After a moment to reflect, it appeared she had done a good job salvaging the White Silver ideology while also signaling that only truly elected people could be Mand'alores. This could do well for bringing people to my side of things but also meant that I had to do more to build broad support when I could. Perhaps I would have to revisit the subject of a Self-Defense Force, perhaps a small one. I'll give it some thought and then write up a proposal for the council to vote on the subject at a later date. At least then it would support the idea that I wished to have a middle ground. Yes, that would be acceptable.

"So, what are we going to do about this potential terrorist?" Almec said, finally turning to look at me, catching me by a bit of surprise. Then I remembered he didn't know that Tanya was White Silver, and it would be best to keep it that way, the less people knew the better. From his perspective, all that happened was that a vigilante had just stormed into the room and knocked out an issue for the government, becoming the new issue in the process. I would need to be careful to make sure I didn't give away that we could trust this White Silver.

"I don't think we need to do much, in all honesty. She said that she's not going to make any appearances unless provoked, so the only option we can while maintaining our non-violent stance is to wait and see." I finally said "And if she hands over the criminal to the Royal Guard for judicial punishment, I see no reason to make an enemy of this White Silver."

Almec raised his eyebrow before shaking his head and saying "A bit too soft in my opinion, but you are right. We are not Traditionalists, so for now the safest option is to wait and see. However, even if this White Silver does keep to her word about not wanting to take over the government and sees you as the true leader of our people; she now has created a solid political faction within our people. If she grows to dislike your rule, who knows what could happen?"

"True," I said, acknowledging his beliefs with a nod, "we'll have to announce condemnation of a vigilante taking such extralegal actions against a criminal. Hopefully that will encourage White Silver not to make any more public appearances. As for her political base, I don't see what we can do on that matter, most of the White Silver's philosophy is an acceptable middle ground between the New and the Old Mandalorian way. Perhaps we can find some way to bring White Silver's people closer to New Mandalorian principles. I will need time to think of some strategy for this situation."

Almec nodded, looking unsure on the matter but his most pressing questions seemed to have been answered. It was then that my old friend Obi-Wan spoke up, "I don't think you need to give such a condemnation really, at least not for this action. Rahm Kota was involved in the effort it would seem, going by the images that were sent out, and he is known for being a bit of a troublemaker. Since Rahm, let's just say 'enjoys', inserting himself into situations he really shouldn't, it is possible to blame the actions of this White Silver as the result of his encouragement."

That caused my eyebrow to raise as I thought about the implications. "If memory serves, White Silver's document had implied working with the Jedi was necessary. Perhaps there was a way to use this impromptu alliance between White Silver and the Jedi to try and rehabilitate a bit of their image amongst the Mandalorian people."

"You have a point," I said, "though not the one you thought you did. I wish to give a condemnation for both White Silver and Rahm Kota. Taking extralegal actions like this should not be done by a private individual and it must not receive support, even implied, from our government."

Obi-Wan rubbed his chin as he tried to decipher my meaning before he smiled, "Always the politician, Satine. I will convey this condemnation back to the Council. Do you want him recalled as well?"

I shook my head instead. "That is for the Council to decide as far as I'm concerned. As long as he is made aware that this behavior is unwelcome, it should be fine."

Obi-Wan nodded his head before saying, "The situation seems to have solved itself and our missing Jedi has reappeared. I'll contact the Council and let them know that the situation is well in hand. As soon as Rahm returns to Mandalore I will probably be called back." smiling he continued, "I guess this is a goodbye for now Satine."

I smile back before saying, "It will probably take a few days to send a task force of Guards to Gargon and back. If you want, we could have a bit of dinner to catch up on non-political subjects."

Obi-Wan smiled before saying, "I think I'd like that, I'll contact you to schedule something once I've talked to the Council. May the Force be with you,Duchess Satine, Prime Minister Almec."

"Farewell, Master Jedi." Almec said before turning to me as Obi-Wan headed for the door. "Though there are good reasons we shouldn't push too heavily on Silver's followers. We will need to keep watch on this organization - if left alone they could become a problem in the future."

"What do you suggest we do?" I said out of curiosity.

"There is a division of the Mandalorian Guard meant for activities such as these. If you allow me to organize an operation, we could infiltrate any political movement serving Silver's cause and make sure they don't get too radical."

"Hmm, very well. You have my permission to infiltrate any political movements that those who follow Silver try to form. Do keep in mind that they are potential allies, not our enemies yet." I said with a shake of my head.

"Of course, I simply wish to have an advanced warning in case they prove themselves to be an enemy of the state. "

"I know, Prime Minister. You simply wish for a safe and secure Mandalore. You have permission to look into this situation."

He nodded his head and said, "Thank you my lady. I will take my leave then to start organizing things. Better to have the gears in motion sooner rather than later."

As the doors closed behind him, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. This day was full of surprises, both good and bad. Events were moving at a rate I could not keep up with and in a direction I only vaguely had control over. I am going to have to have a nice long talk with Tanya when she finally returns to Mandalore about this whole White Silver business. I needed to get some sort of explanation for why she thought it was a great idea to infiltrate a rebellious planet and overthrow its corrupt regime with only her Royal Guards. Though I had to chuckle a bit at it all. As teenage adventures go for a Mandalorian, that had to be one worthy of being put in books. It was almost as extraordinary as my adventure with Obi-wan during the Clan Wars when I was her age.

Sitting back in my chair in the now empty meeting room, I considered how I was going to handle the Silver political movement that would surely spring up from this whole affair.

Tanya had portrayed me as a New Mandalorian who was willing to look for a compromise. Something I hadn't previously wanted to be due to how the Clan Wars ended years ago. I had to be uncompromising towards the Old Mandalorians to keep them in line so that we have a chance of bringing peace to the sector. Now that the people had experienced peace as a status quo, I could afford a few concessions, especially if they have merits.

Question was, what could I do to try and appease the Silver Mandalorians? The Self Defense Force Tanya had suggested could be a good start, maybe we could create some sort of non-military use for the organization that could occupy them when we were not in conflict. Perhaps disaster relief or emergency rescue?

I needed something that would show that I was willing to work with the Silver centrists but was ultimately not going to infuriate the New Mandalorians; something that could maintain a defensive status and was in touch with the roots of Mandalorians without reverting to the aggressiveness of the old ways.

The answer was quite clear in hindsight, armor. The Silver Codex showed armor as a defensive tool, something that could be militarized or could just be used to save your life. Off the top of my head, there were three things I could do based around armor that could appease the Silver Mandalorians without causing the New Mandalorians to go into an uproar.

The first is removing more of the restrictions on armor, there weren't many left anyway. I have already done a lot to undo some of the damage I may have caused in my fervor to end conflict as quickly as possible.

The second idea is that I could return some of the beskar that had been taken in the early days of my reign. At the time, the act had been necessary to de-escalate situations and make acquiring beskar armaments more costly but things were different now. A good majority of it had been used in the creation of some of the structural parts of the city of Sedin or for the shields used by my Mandalorian Guards. I believe there was still quite a large amount of beskar held in reserve. Perhaps it was time for that reserve to be decreased? Unfortunately, there was no easy way to track down a person who had given up their armor to help establish a new Mandalore and for the most part they've been paid for giving it up. All I would need to do now was to look into a reasonable distribution method to give some of the beskar to the people in general without the majority ending up in subversive hands.

The third idea I'd have could be accomplished quite easily without angering the New Mandalorians too much or needing to run it through the government. Quite simply I would need to pay a visit to Kalevala and contact an old friend, Zum Murdoc, so that he could reforge my old armor into something I could wear. That would show my commitment to the defensive Mandalore without giving up my ideals of pacifism.

I haven't spoken to Zum for nearly a decade though. Tracking him down would be difficult, maybe Bo knew where he was. I would have to contact her anyway. Once I get in contact with Zum, I'll see if I can contract him to do the job. I could use the Royal Guard Armorsmiths for the project but I think having it done by my Clan's Armorsmith would aid my attempt at unity more than having some faceless Armorsmith who mass-produced armor all the time to do it, no offense to them, they were just doing their jobs. It is like the difference between a royal chef and a cook of a family diner, both can be delicious but the royal chef just has a higher standard of quality.

Coruscant, Jedi Council Chamber

Mace Windu

Shaking my head I said, "I expected the situation to get out of hand in some way. However I didn't expect there to be an identity theft situation going on or for the person whose identity was stolen to appear in such a way."

Expecting this either, I did not. But pleasantly surprised I am, this situation seeming to resolve itself well.

"I did not either. Though pleasantly surprised, the situation seems to have resolved itself well." Yoda said, "An end to potential issues in the Madalorian sector, this young silver has put, no?"

I responded, "Is this the end of it or is this just the start of something more? With so little information we could be seeing the rise of something worse than what was there before. The first White Silver was at least a known entity, we understood 'his' motives and methods. This aggressive White Silver is one that blindsided us all and predicting her actions will be challenging." I sighed and shook my head. "At least we know where Rahm Kota got off to, perhaps he could fill in a few of the blanks we're having right now."

Master Yoda, who was sitting next to me chuckled, "Always rushing to the front that one is, seeking atonement for his youth or simply acting on instincts I do not know."

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head before saying, "It's hard to say, he's a good Jedi though. Even if he does get into some trouble now and again, I can't hold it against him for wanting to help people even where the council wouldn't intervene."

"True, kind heart he has,Even if appearing more gruff than he is, he tries."

Master Rancisis decided to return our attention to the matter at hand. "While this is all well and good that Master Kota is uninjured, what are we going to do about this Silver business? I believe we were worried that this could have presaged a backslide in the Mandalorian sector. With this new development I'm not sure what the future holds."

"A backslide, this is not. What these events represent, a ripple or tide, uncertain I am. Positive though, these developments I suspect to be." Master Yoda said with a nod.

Master Mundi shared his thoughts on the matter. "Maybe what's concerning about this new White Silver is that we don't know anything about her. She could be the original or she could be another fake. We've already had one 'impostor', she could be another. I'd hate to think that Mandalore would be brought low by fighting over the title of White Silver."

"This issue, not significant I suspect to be. With False Silver cast down, her goals accomplished, return to hiding, White Silver will. Remaining in public presence, conflicts with the Duchess and less debates, the likely results are. Seclusion, White Silver's claimed motives best supports." Yoda said, nodding his head and thought before he continued, "An interesting term, they used, False Silver." He chuckled with humor that I didn't understand.

"I don't see what's so interesting or funny about it." I said, raising an eyebrow. As far as I could see it was just a term used to label the fake Silver. "What possible interest or joke could there be in such a term?"

"Private joke, reminded I was." He said, shaking his head before continuing. " The original, this white silver claims to be, remaining visible in the Mandalorian Sector, serves her purposes not. A focal point for violence, conflict she would become. Depart, she must."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, Yoda was known for having a good handle on situations but this seemed out of context especially in light of the unexpected events that had just concluded. .

"Read the Silver Codex, once or twice I have. A defensive doctrine, it is. Designed for conquest, it is not" He said, "A companion to the Jedi code, it could have been. In other times, under other influences. "

I resolved to read it over a bit closer the next time I got the chance, but first, I decided to ask the question that none of the others had voiced. "Are you going to attempt to ensure that this doctrine gets the right influences? It's not like we know who this White Silver is and could simply try to talk them into adopting ideas of the Jedi order."

Yoda tapped the side of his cane in thought before simply saying, "Ways there are, I think, to bring White Silver's focus to ideas from the Jedi order. Leave Kota on Concordia, I suggest. Discussion among White Silver's supporters, his presence alone will roads too, I can make, with the young representative from Mandalore. Lead to eventually meeting with this White Silver, these actions may, if thoughtful dialogue occurs."

"Seems highly unlikely," I mused out loud, "more likely Silver is going to stay far away from us. But it's as good a start as any." I said with a shrug. Without more information we can only take actions that make the most sense and trust in the will of the Force.

Master Yoda nodded his head in agreement before saying "Small is our influence, thus small in size, our actions must be. Only negatives, would a large action create. Worry not about this situation. A friend of the Order,I feel White Silver will be. A friend in an unexpected place? Perhaps, believe this I do." He said in his knowing way. "Should White Silver become a friend? Trust in her, we shall."

Gargon, Mandal Hypernautics Conference Room

Tanya Kryze

It had been less than 24 hours since the fall of False Silver and after all of the stressful combat I had been in the day before, I could use a break. But there was no time for me to rest.

I had jumped from street combat, which had been frankly exhilarating and adrenaline pumping, to political combat. Now that False Silver had been toppled, those involved in his removal were fighting for the scraps.

Most of the mercenaries and Silver Mandos that had been outside the Hypernautics compound during my confrontation with False Silver had been subdued by local gangs or nomads who had eventually found their way to the compound during the fighting. What had happened to them, I don't know for sure but I could guess that a bunch of them were no longer wearing armor and a good portion of them were probably going to not see the light of day for a long time, if ever.

Criminal organizations didn't tend to treat enemy combatants kindly, I believe. How they would treat friends is still up in the air.

As of a few hours ago I received a request for a meeting to determine the fate of Mandal Hypernautics. AKA the criminal gangs wanted a piece of the pie, which was understandable. No doubt a lot of businesses had been thrown under the bus by the CEOs attempt at global conquest.

I wasn't exactly going to want to keep Mandal Hypernautics. The biggest factor was I didn't have any way to control it but I was still partial to figuring out a way to get some benefit from the company.

That being said, the Nomads had already taken what they wanted. I heard reports that every speeder bike as well as all of the trucks in the Mandal Hypernautics stockpile were missing. No doubt they would be using them for years; they were welcome to take them. The Nomads had done me a favor with their portion of the assault so they deserved a reward.

As for the Royal Guard who had been on the planet when we arrived, he and Rahm were taking his ship back to Mandalore already with the CEO tied up on board. I was sure the Mandalorian gangsters of Gargon wanted the CEO and they do have a claim to him for the various crimes he'd committed against their planet. But, as I had made clear earlier, I believe they would have killed him and buried him in a ditch somewhere, after maybe a week of torture, which would do me no good.

His death would have made him into a martyr. Rotting prison leaves him as just a criminal. Sending him to aunt Satine also went a long way to show the loyalty of the Silver Mandalorians to the established government. This hopefully would dispel any rumors that I was planning to try and overthrow my aunt and prevent any other attempts to use the Silver Mandalorians as fodder for whatever other movement wanted to try and overthrow my aunt.

Of course, this did damage some of my attempts to try and create a solely neutral faction as people would claim I was submissive to the New Mandalorians, but I had been pushed into this position by events out of my control. If I needed to run with those events while I regained control of my message that's what I would do.

As for the Wrens, I didn't know what had happened to them. They were here yesterday after we completed the mission but they had vanished soon afterwards heading off to do whatever the Wrens did. I don't know what their objectives had been in taking part in this conflict but I was glad they had been here, their jetpacks had made the mission a lot easier, and I owed them a bit of a favor in the future. One I would deliver on if I ever got the chance. Speaking of jetpacks, the one I took from that brute in the arena is now safely stored in the ship and Zum volunteered to adjust it to my specifications once he returned to Concordia.

As for the situation with the mafia, I guess I would have to find out what they wanted. The meeting had been scheduled for today and I obtained the use of Hypernautic's conference room to do it. Not only because I wanted to know I was in a secure facility, which technically it was and I was glad to , but because the office could be considered neutral ground until today's meeting was over.

Well that and the offices were rather nice. The table appears to be wood from Jakalia and was very well made. Not to mention it had a window view overlooking Gargon City.

My Mandalorian Royal Guard and Zum are with me for today's meeting. They were standing about the room acting as guards. Obviously they're to make sure nothing terrible went down considering how armed they were. Mok was currently getting control of the security systems which was still a work in progress, Skota and Struc are having a conversation on the matters of how many wounded there were right now. I had brought quite a few of both the Silver Mandalorians and the Black Iron mercenaries into the compound and tried to organize their medical staff to work together to take care of the wounded. The fighting was over, there was no need for people to die if possible. It would just be a waste of perfectly good human resources at this point for every person who died.

No doubt one of my sticking points in the coming of negotiations would be to secure the safety of both those parties. The Silver Mandalorians because they were, well to put it bluntly, my followers and the black mercenaries because showing your enemy a bit of mercy when you have control can create positive outcomes. Unlike with the Francois in my last war, thankfully this faction was thoroughly beaten. There would be no last minute fleeing to a southern continent and since their leadership was destroyed, being too harsh on them gained me nothing I wanted. Finally Ordo and Zum are standing to my left and right side in that order, appearing as tough as they could and ready for the Mafia clans to arrive. Which I believed would be any moment now.

At that thought, a beeping sound alerted us to the elevator on this floor opening. It revealed two, I would guess Mandalorian, mobster leaders and their four compatriot guards. I could tell they were the leaders due to the quality of their attire as well as the fact that the blasters each had looked modern and new compared to the ones carried by their grunts which look like they were old relics.

They gave my team of guards a wary look, something I could tell since their leadership apparently had not decided to don helmets for this occasion though they were wearing plates of Mandalorian armor.

After a moment, the wider one spoke first, "I'm Clan leader Grel of Clan Tutt, this is Kagg, leader of Clan Kroggooss. We're here to negotiate with the new owner of Mandal Hypernautics. Secure that you are not going to attempt to take over the planet like the last owner."

I nodded my helmet before saying, "I am White Silver and fortunately I have no interest in taking over this planet. In fact I would be more than willing to sell Mandal Hypernautics if there was a willing buyer amongst you."

"Yes about that, that's not going to happen." Grel said, shaking his head, "As in we can't let you sell Mandal Hypernautics."

I raised my brow under my helmet, "And why is that?"

Kagg spoke up in a deep voice and began explaining, "To make it simple, Gargon has an intricate balance of power that Mandal Hypernautics played a part in. That balance of power has been upset and if it were to be sold to anyone on this planet it would disturb it even more likely resulting in another little uprising like what happened yesterday. We need a stable, unambitious, and relatively neutral party to help maintain stability. Of course we'll still want to see some direct benefits as well."

I nodded my head and rubbed the chin of my helmet with thought. It seems Gargon is more dicey than I'd originally thought, which I guess is to be expected when it doesn't have a stable government. It means I can't just dump Hypernautics to someone else without the power structure being in danger of collapsing again. Annoying but I had thought about something like this happening before saying, "That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. What if I were to sell it to someone off-world? Would you have an issue with that?"

"No off-world company is likely going to buy it, but even if they did, that might just encourage the New Mando Duchess to step onto this planet. We don't need her Mandalorian guard or her royal guard poking around our business." Grel said, "Matter of fact, I think it would be best if you leave soon." before continuing with the statement, "Yes I know you made a statement saying that you serve the Duchess, but you are already being decried as a potential terrorist and vigilante by said Duchess's government so I don't think you're going to be working directly with her."

I could be excused for missing that announcement since I had been too busy putting out fires, both figuratively and literally, to watch the news. Though that was to be expected, no government would publicly endorse a revolutionary even if they dethroned a tyrannical dictator without being seen as a backer.. In this case, someone had just burst onto the scene and enacted political violence, you don't do that and not get a bit of a side eye from the current leadership even if you're on their side. I could try and clear that up with them down the line but for now I needed to focus on here. The hot potato of Mandal Hypernautics.

He continued "Any other off-world company that was interested would be taking a large risk and would want something out of it. Their involvement would likely result in conditions hazardous to our own businesses which itself would be…destabilizing."

"Well if I can't sell it off-world and I can't sell it to one of you I guess I'll have to maintain ownership in some way." I said, shaking my head.

I did not have any plans to continuously run a company, though if I did, a starship company wasn't a bad option. Perhaps I would find someone amongst the staff here who could be trustworthy enough to not go rogue, wasn't there a foreman that had helped us? A 'He rubbed my back, I'll rub his' type of deal. If I found that his qualifications were good enough to actually run Hypernautics that is, I would rather have someone qualified to run it than a loyal incompetent for this business. If I was very very lucky, all I would need to do was pay him well and give him plenty of paid vacation leave so he wouldn't betray me. That shouldn't be too hard.

"I was expecting a list of demands, so let's hear them." I said, folding my hands in front of me on the table as I looked across it at the pair of my bosses that were standing at the other end.

"Oh, we do have some demands but they're not that difficult to fulfill. Don't try and take over the planet. Don't sell the company to the Hutts, we've already dealt with them and we do not want to go through the hassle of doing it again. And most importantly, you'll need to at least visit some of the yearly meetings where we discuss the running of Gargon, or one of your agents acting as your representative will. A few product discounts and non-essential supply contracts to ensure we are all able to enjoy equitable benefits from a lasting partnership."

Ah, they were trying to chain me to their alliance, give me a growing interest in, and possibly some slight affection for Gargon so that they can deal with me in a political sense instead of a company trying to take advantage of their planet for unknown reasons.

That is unexpected but not a terrible thing. Speaking up I said, "I guess I could see about arriving at some meetings like that. though I am a rather busy person so if I send a representative don't feel too insulted, as I said I don't need a company and obtaining it was not my objective for this campaign. I'll need to review any potential contracts. There will be a hard cap on the quantity of discounted ships and total value of contracts. We'll base the latter on net profit. If I'm involved I'm not going tolerate rampant undermining of the company's health"

Kagg nodded and said, "Base it on gross profits, that's fine as long as you're not going to try and take over the planet. If you can deal with us as equals, we won't give a damn if you're there or not. We just want this planet to be quiet and apolitical so we can go about our business the old fashioned way; selling spice, running guns, and making a little money from gambling."

That line of dialogue sparked a memory in me but thought I had years before on how to rejuvenate the economy of the Mandalorian sector. This caused me to tilt my head in thought, Gargon is on the edges of the Mandalorian sector but it is still a part of it and it is right next to the Hydian Way.

In essence it was a perfect position to play Las Vegas to Mandalorian Sector's Nevada. "How much business comes through Gargon?" I asked, trying to suss out more details.

"A decent amount," Grel said. "We get a lot more when things are quiet around here, though it's mostly smugglers that show up on this planet."

"Strange, you would think that with such opportunities out here you'd have more."

"Opportunities?" Kagg asked, sounding confused yet interested.

"Yes, opportunities. This planet is within the Mandalorian sector and in essence protected from outside military action as long as it doesn't pull another attempt at overthrowing the Duchess. You have natural vistas of beauty across the planet, the streets are for the most part kept clean and clear, by your enforcers I imagine. Really, just add a few more elements to it you could run an advertising campaign for this planet being some sort of resort world for the rich and stupidly wealthy to spend their money. Of course you would need to move the spice production outside the city. Drugs have a way of making such places look worse than they really are but otherwise you could make quite a lot of money legitimately on this planet. It would also free you from having to rely on some of the more troublesome offworld criminal elements that you currently must cater to."

The two mob bosses exchanged looks before turning to look at me again. They both reached out for a chair and pulled it out to sit down having apparently found reason to take a seat, something they had refused up to this moment. It seems the allure of money could bring even the criminals to negotiations with me.

"There had been discussions about something like that before. We thought Gerr would actually help us in that matter but as you know, all of his enforcers were a prelude to attempted global conquest." Grel started off.

"Plus we needed those enforcers to not be any of our own faction's enforcers." Kegg continued. "Balance of power you see. If one of us has control over the local police, well things could get very nasty very fast."

"If someone were to take up the mantle of training a stable police force that would not interfere too deeply with our businesses, as long as it doesn't screw with the tourists, we could see about cleaning up this city enough for your idea of a resort world to be pulled off." Grel continued, "After all, it wouldn't take all much work to accomplish. Most of the hotels and casinos are already here, we would just need to relocate the more criminal elements to the outskirts of the city or other towns where they could continue their work. We'd maintain this city as the resort world's capital."

Ahh I didn't have to do much at all, they were already discussing this idea but were having issues finding someone trustworthy for the operation. "So you need someone to act as a guarantee that the planet will be safe for the people who come to visit. That shouldn't be too hard, I already have quite a few followers here thanks to False Silver. If I were to find some of the more sane people amongst them It would be possible to put together a police force and add some talented auditors and administrators loyal to me to prevent corruption. If this force is independent of Mandal Hypernautics and responds only to the Clan Council of Gargon, I'm sure that would work well for all of us."

"Clan Council?" Grel said, sounding a bit confused.

"You're not the only people on this planet, after all the Nomads also live here. You give them a vote, it makes the whole thing seem more legitimate. In fact it is almost a legitimate government even if some of its elements are a bit on the extralegal side. You can get recognition through the Mandalorian Senate and representatives to Coruscant which would spread your advertising campaign for this being a resort world quite far. I believe a lot of Core World business types have to travel the Hydian Way to the Corporate Sector. if there's a place they can stop off for a day or two for some rest and recreation, and to see the sights of course, well I'm sure they will take it up."

I swear I could see the dollar signs in their eyes as they were both smiling at the idea. "Of course it will take some time," I continued, "building a proper representative government usually does and I'm sure the Nomadic clans will have a few stipulations about the criminal elements that'll be forced out of Gargon City. You'll probably be expected to pay a bit of extra taxes to public works to capitalize on all the distance and other public exploration projects that would intrigue the corporate bosses that will be traveling this way, possibly with their families as well if you play your cards right. In fact, If you're willing to decrease the value of our future contracts I'd be open to committing a larger amount towards funding such governance and public welfare projects."

"Yes, yes," Grel said, rubbing his chin in thought, "I can see the opportunity now. We'll have to run this by," he stopped to seem to think it over before saying, "the Gargon City Clan Council. After all, it would take a lot of investment to start moving things around so that the main city could be softened up for the political class. But I think a lot of them would be interested in this idea. It is only a matter of getting the Nomads to sign on to a non-aggression treaty so they don't raid us when times get too bad."

"That shouldn't be too hard really. Simply let the nomads set up their own 'wilderness' hotels outside the city, closer to the vistas. If they're making a bit of money off the Vista elements and you're making a bit of money off the City elements you're both making money, enough to not interfere with each other too often I would think. I've got a few ideas for locating startup capital without too many strings attached."

That got a chuckle from the pair of mob bosses before Kegg said, "Well I don't know if this plan will work out or whether the Council would agree, but I do say I'm glad Mandal is out of the hands of that moron and in yours. Cuz you at least have a brain that actually thinks about long-term stability that I can support whole-heartedly."

I nodded my head, "The Silver Codex is all about stability, stability of the Mandalorian people to continue our existence on the galactic stage. Now that war is not as acceptable as it once was."

That got nods from the group as they stood up from their seats, "We'll tell the other bosses what you're planning and that you will not be selling the business. How long are you planning to stay on Gargon anyways?"

"No more than a week, I think. Have to set up some sort of new corporate structure so the company can rebuild itself, set up the basic structure of this Gargon Police Force or whatever will name it, and once you get an official vote from the Clan leaders of the city, I will have it going to effect."

"Efficient," Kegg commented, "Well then thank you for your time, White Silver and enjoy Gargon for the few days you'll stay." They nodded their heads and turned to leave, leaving me to my thoughts on how I was going to fix Mandal Hypernautics.

Gargon, Mandal Hypernautics Tower

Bo-Katan Kryze

Man that fighting style sure was familiar, so very, very familiar that after I had about 10 hours of sleep and recovery I finally figured out where I'd seen that fighting style before.

Knowing where I'd seen it before certain things started falling into place quickly. From there I had simply gone and asked for a meeting with the new CEO of Mandal Hypernautics, the so-called White Silver.

What I expected when I entered the building was not what I thought I would find but interesting nonetheless. The disorganized chaos that had been the Mandal Hypernautics building after the fighting the day before, seem to have been dealt with as one of the members of White Silver's retinue had taken charge of the medical staff and was doing all they could to put the place back together, at least where there were people. Another member was a slicer by the looks of it had taken control over the automatic systems of the place, including droids which were helping with either cleaning the place up, moving dead bodies around, or moving medicine from storehouses to the makeshift infirmary that had once been a cafeteria by the looks of it.

One other member, the one who Rau had come into town with, was apparently organizing the defeated Black Iron mercenaries and the Silver zealots into multiple detachments to help clean up the place and gather up all the equipment that had been left around. Whatever happened to those non-mandalorians, I didn't know. If I had to make a guess they'd probably be given tickets on the first boat out of here if they wanted it. As for the Mandalorian zealots though, I had no idea but I doubted they would go very far from Gargon. Many would jump at the chance to follow their patron codex writer even if it led into a job in business. Given a job in the new Mandal Hypernautics and some impassioned rhetoric no doubt they'd join up with whatever organization White Silver would come up with.

Shaking my head at the ridiculousness of the situation I pressed a few buttons on the elevator and headed up to the floor I'd been told to go to. It was near the top and as the doors opened I saw a finely furnished meeting room with several portraits in the cubic style on the walls depicting various 'Battles of long past', though I think one of them might have been the Siege of Mandalore, the more recent one at least.

Past the wooden table is White Silver herself looking all official with that little cape on her shoulder. On one side, I believe his name was Onyx, was standing there trying to look tough as he held a blaster in his hands. To her right was Zum or, well there were very few people who wore armor on their shoulders that was that oversized and I had a very good feeling I knew who was under his armor.

"Miss Bo-Katan, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" White Silver said whilst leaning forward tenting their hand into a pyramid shape as they looked across at me.

Pulling my helmet off I smiled and said, "Well I have some questions that only you can answer, Miss White Silver. I just wanted to know what the connection between you and Satine really is?"

The helmeted head of White Silver tilted and said, "She is the elected leader of our people that is all."

"Are you sure about that?" I said taking a few steps forward before pulling the chair out and sitting down across from her. "I got the feeling that the connection was a bit more personal considering I was hired to come to this planet to find out who was in charge of the False Silver operation and who they were. Then all of a sudden, as soon as that information I spent quite a bit of money getting is acquired, you show up in response to it."

"A fortuitous series of coincidences, I came as soon as Bresug broadcasted that he was White SIlver. Merely fortunate timing, nothing more." White Silver said while shaking her head.

"Right, right. By the way sorry I left the place in a mess, Zum. My ship broke down and I got called to help with this whole thing, so I didn't really have time to clean up." The taller guard immediately stiffened up, as if he had not been expecting to be found out. Telling me I very well may have just hit the nail on the coffin as to what was going on.

What was going through White Silver's head I didn't know; but they were staring at me rather calmly through their helmet–not twitching or anything–good sabacc face. At least in body language terms.

"By the way," I continued, "that is an interesting fighting style you have there, it reminded me of my niece's style. Always trying to keep range but once the distance is closed using the gun as much as possible. I dare say you two would be evenly matched."

The silence was deafening so I continued, "Incidentally, have you cleaned this room? Made sure there are no bugs or anything left behind by the previous occupants."

"I had one of my retinue make sure this room is earless, the only ones who can hear what's going on in this room are you, me, and these two.

"Ah good good no one can hear me say what I'm about to say. I am so proud of you Tanya… but your aunt is going to kill you when she finds out what you did."

There was silence before a deep sigh was released before a hand went to the helmet and pulled it off revealing the auburn hair I hadn't seen in a long while. "Hello to you too Auntie Bo. Satine is not going to find out what happened here cause I had Vai act as my alibi on Harswee." Tanya said. With a sigh she placed the helmet down on the table, "And you are not going to tell her, because I assume you wouldn't want your own reputation to be connected to this whole conflict." She smiled, in a way that said 'if I go down, you're going down with me'.

"Good thinking and of course I'm not going to tell Satine." I laughed, "Who do you think's going to get the blame when this finally comes out? No, if you're dead, I'll be disintegrated. We just need to keep this whole situation under wraps that you posed as White Silver in order to solve a problem for your aunt."

Tanya seemed to stop and thought before saying, "Yes posed…" which immediately clued me in that this was not just a simple pose.

Leaning forward I said, "You are posing right? You didn't write that document right? Please tell me you did not write that document. Because if this gets out, it will get you killed. Writing that document under Satine's nose will get you disintegrated."

"I didn't write it under her nose…" Tanya finally said. Causing my jaw to drop a little bit. My sister, the most up her own ass pacifist had taken part in the creation of the Silver Codex? She had condoned its creation? I felt a bit proud of that. There was still a bit of mandalorian left in her after all. Sure it was tempered by that stupid Coruscanti Osik, but she was willing to negotiate to bring back some of the militarism of the past as long as it was used in the defense of Mandalore in some way.

Finally I got a hold of myself and said, "That is unexpected. If you didn't do this behind her back and you're telling the truth," and mentally I was wishing and hoping that Tanya was telling the truth on this matter. "Then that changes a few things about this whole situation. You've just been upgraded from dead to definitely being banished from the house if it ever comes out that you were the one who led the attack yesterday."

"Hopefully it will never come out," she said. "and I'll be able to retire as White Silver and no one will ever pull that stunt again."

"Yeah that's probably for the best." I said. "You may not be aware of this but there are factions that have been looking for White Silver because they don't like your little manifesto. If they ever found out who you really are, that would not be good for your lifespan." I don't know if Pre would be so active as to attempt to murder Tanya. I am pretty sure I could probably keep him under control, using my original plan of 'don't go after family members if you ever tried any attempt to overthrow the government' when there are other factions out there that could return the favor when they know that family members are valid targets.

"Excellent," she said, "By the way, do you know anything about running a corporation?" I shook my head and tilted my head before saying, "No, why?"

"The mafia on this planet have basically refused to buy the company due to power balance issues. I'm looking into ways of fixing that issue. I have a couple people I might tap for giving the reins over the company to while it's resolved on its own but until then I'm the CEO of Mandal Hypernautics or at least White Silver is. I don't have time to be running a corporation so I'll probably have to find someone to run it for me. Though I do trust you quite a bit Auntie Bo, so I thought I would offer it to you first."

"Damn kid," I said rubbing the back of my neck, "sorry to say I don't have the background for that. Though I guess I could help out, I know a few people on this planet that might be willing to work with you and as well as getting the company in a position where you could theoretically sell it or keep it as long as you kept it at arm's length."

"That would be excellent and once we get all of its assets figured out I'll see about getting you a payment for the aid you can give me. If you're willing, I have a couple other projects on this planet that might interest you in one way or another depending if you're interested and helping me with such projects."

Sitting back I thought for a moment before saying, "Sure why not." The reality was I was not really doing anything other than living off the stipend that was the Kryze name or maybe a bounty here or there when I was bored. Picking up a stable job out in the middle of nowhere could be interesting and helping my niece was, well, just what a good family and clan member should do.

Gargon, Hypernautic Conference Room

Tanya Kryze

The situation on Gargon had taken a week to resolve but I think it is finally under control, the remnants of False Silver's fleet had either surrendered to me, the local mob bosses, or retreated out of the system with their ships, mostly to strike out and try to take up piracy. Unfortunately I would produce more work for the Royal Guard it would seem, though give it enough time and they would be dealt with.

No doubt most would end up in Hutt space which was unfortunate but that's where the criminals tended to gather when times were bad for them.

To add on to the good news, the last of the Black Iron mercenaries have been forced to surrender. It seems there had been several pockets that had basically tried to hole up in areas of the city I was unaware of. They had been planning to fight till the end out of some fear they wouldn't talk about. Thankfully, I had been able to negotiate their surrender as long as they handed over all their weapons to an as yet unnamed organization that would help keep the peace on Gargon and its territory. From there they had either been absorbed into the local gangs or got as many flights out of Gargon as possible, although some had signed up to take part of my Mandalorian organization that had yet to have a name. Those have been thrown in with the former members of the Silver Militia and were being trained into something resembling a peacekeeping force thanks to Bo-Katan who, at the very least, have been hired as a trainer.

Some may say it's unfair to give a contract to someone in your own family, I might say at least I could trust Bo-Katan with this planet. Considering that she had some contacts within the local population, I believed she could easily get the former bastards who'd been a pain in the neck of the local population to not cause trouble. Beat a man until he learns to teach the people who are locals respect and you'll get a respectful man, at least that's what I was hoping would happen.

As for the corporation of Mandal Hypernautics itself, the formerly overworked warehouse manager had gracefully accepted my offer to be the interim CEO until someone better was elected and was accepting that he would have to take orders from X4 going under Silver X in order to operate with me. The man just wanted to make money for his own options, as a fellow corporate cog, I completely understood his motivation, so giving him an option to make money seemed the best way to reward him. My own goals were simply to get the company working again and maybe produce a stable income to help with the ideas of turning Gargon into a resort world.

A general issue that I had come to find annoying while going over the books, I found that large portions of the stockpiles of supplies and weapons had been stolen at some point. I wasn't sure who was responsible for this but it was a reality I would have to deal with, hopefully it would not be too much of an issue for the company.

Besides that, I worked out some general contracts with the local gangs. Starter contracts as it were to keep things simple. I would prefer not to work with criminals but when the planet is run by criminals you really had no other option. I guess I could abandon the company and just let whatever happens, happen but that seems irresponsible especially if I could get the mobsters to see how profitable more lawful businesses could be. Stable well-paying industry would do more good for the sector than letting everything fall apart,

Otherwise, the company could run itself, producing ships for the local clans and for the Hutts in the military capacity. I really wasn't needed to oversee it at this point so we were preparing to leave finally and something I was happy to be on my way about. I had other things to do other than dally around Gargon trying to make sure everything was perfect. The more visible I was, the worse it would be for the Silver Codex and I could immediately deal with the issues going on with Mandal Hypernautics from a distance remotely.

It was time to go to Ordo for a meet up with Vai, to get back to being a senator and no longer a well and unfortunate folk hero by some of the stuff I've seen online.

Gargon Orbit, En-route to Mandalore

Rahm Kota

Laying on the bench in the back part of the ship I relaxed trying to find my center after that adventurous trip to Gargon. I was probably going to be in trouble with the Jedi Council for that little gamble but it all worked out I believed. I would probably get a slap on the wrist, might even be forced to leave the sector by those in control of Mandalore, but that's what usually happened when I did what I felt was right.

Near the front of the ship the Mandalorian Royal Guard was flying us into orbit to take us to the Mandalorian system where I could get a flight back to Concordia. He seemed focused on the controls but he finally spoke up as he seemed to have the navi-computer finalized.

"Thank you for the help during the fighting Master Kota. I don't think we would have been able to push past the first trenches with as few casualties if you hadn't been there."

I smiled and said, "No need, it was what a Jedi should do, not to mention it felt like old times."

"Old times?" the Royal Guard asked from his seat.

"Long story short, I'm from a world that spent most of the last hundred years at war with itself. A lot of trench warfare so I'm familiar with tactics of that particular kind of combat." I said trying to stretch out a twinge in my back.

Rou chuckled and asked, "Any chance that that planet is part of the Mandalorian Dyaspora? Sounds like one of ours."

Causing me to laugh a bit at that before saying, "No no it's not, as far as I'm aware it was never part of the Diaspora or had any connections to Mandalore. If there had been, it was long since wiped out. That being said, I do feel certain kinship with your people. Facing a long and drawn out war that never seems to end is a shared experience but I think we can all agree it is something we'd rather not experience."

"Ain't that the truth." he said, turning his seat to look out into space for a moment.

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as someone began banging on one of the cell doors. "Let me out of here! Let me out! You cannot do this to me!"

Letting out a breath of annoyance, Rau got up and cracked his neck. He walked past me and pressed the button for the door, catching the CEO's fist with his left hand as he attempted to escape and then punching him square in the jaw, knocking him out. Rau pushed him back into the cell before closing the door. "That'll keep him out for another couple hours. Hopefully he won't make more of a racket next time he wakes up."

"Here's hoping." I said, amused by the whole scene before saying, "Though that was a bit harsh, aren't there rules for transporting prisoners that prevent physical violence."

The Royal Guard shrugged before shaking his head, "Technically yes, also technically the rules are more like guidelines anyways when it comes to terrorists in the Mandalorian Sector. You can't treat them too softly though, they'll eat you alive."

"I know that," as he walked past me to get back into his seat before he continued. "and frankly this is going to be a long flight, if he gets the idea that banging on the door will get him anything but a punch in the face he'll be making a racket the entire time. Just being an annoyance and maybe hoping to get a moment where we slip up and he thinks he can overpower us is not something I want to deal with."

"Very unlikely," I noted out loud before saying, "well since that's the treatment of terrorists, how come you didn't go after White Silver?"

"Not enough guards. If I had the resources and the manpower I would have taken her in as well. What she did was a vigilante act even if it was in favor of the current government, no one's above the law. By the way, do you have any details on her base of operations? In case the Duchess sends me after her, I would like to have some idea on where I can pick her up."

I shook my head and said, "No idea at all, I happened to meet her at a local spaceport on Concordia as I was looking for a ride to Gargon. They said they were going that way, only found out who they were after the ship left the planet."

"Concordia," he said rubbing his chin, "that says a lot, must be one of the exiles. Would have thought Pre would have gone down harder on the Silver Codex if she was from there but then again he's always a bit of a softy when it comes to the Traditionalists."

"That does explain why she never took her helmet off though. She must be one of those religious types, the Children of Mand'alor or whatever. They believe you can't be a true Mandalorian if you don't wear the helmet all the time."

"Must be." I said, hiding amusement that my accidental leak seemed to have created a backstory for White Silver. I've met the Children of Mand'alor and to be frank White Silver was not one of them. The fact that I caught her without her helmet when I first met her was proof enough for that but the mindset was slightly different as well with her prioritizing the people of Mandalore, instead of honor. I was not going to correct the Royal Guard. What Silver is doing seems like a good influence on the sector, so helping the Royal Guard track her down now is not really advisable. Let him believe that she might be a member of the Cult of The Children of Mand'alor. Besides, keeping the location of her secret base to myself was well within my rights. If I ever came to believe that White Silver was a problem I could always release this information at a later time.

Gargon, Gargon City Outskirts

Ursa Wren

I watched as another set of recently captured ships took off, loaded to bear with as much equipment as I had been able to squirrel away over the last few days, which was a sizable amount. One thing I had to give the CEO credit for, is that he produced a lot of equipment, a lot of it that could be repurposed for Death Watch or just simply for my own use if Death Watch never made the move that they promised.

Each ship was filled with blaster rifles and armor, both beskar and non-beskar variants. I would prefer if all of them were beskar but in an emergency non-beskar could do it for some of the extremities. The chest plate and helmet are the most important parts that require true beskar to protect the chest, head, and vital organs. Arm and leg shots are survivable wounds but a blast to the head is not something anyone can walk away from without a true beskar helmet. The ships were also loaded with beskar ingots we'd stolen from warehouses. Crates of them, where had these crates come from? I didn't know but I was not going to say no to bringing them on board. I have an armorsmith who could work on them for my people and I'm sure I could send some of it to Death Watch for their own projects.

Most importantly of all, was spreading the word that Clan Wren had been helpful in taking down this entire operation which may lead to some volunteers from this planet when Death Watch finally made its move. All in all this was a good operation and a bit of fun with no losses on my side. While Kan did take a shoulder wound, he was fine for the most part. A doctor should be able to fix him up, worst case he'll just get a replacement arm.

Really, the largest problem was that I could only get away with about 15 new ships with the loot on board and my own ship that I'd used to get here. I'm sure that is quite a lot of material spread across all those ships, but there was so much more material left behind for White Silver. I attempted to stash some resources for pick up at a later date, but I decided it was best not to push too hard on that. If I got greedy then I'd draw too much attention and would return to find everything gone.

Silver was the most unexpected part of this whole operation and an element I was quite interested in watching develop. Oh sure, I'll tell Pre everything I know about White Silver when I saw him, especially since I was interested in seeing what kind of threat her faction would grow to be against Death Watch.

The pacifists are not a threat, they are merely a roadblock, a very effective roadblock but one that could be overcome if the right cards were played. White Silver though is an actual threat that could very well genuinely challenge us and they would likely protect the roadblock.

Granted they seem to believe that the roadblock was going to become more Mandalorian as the years went on, something I doubted. Duchess Satine had thoroughly left all that made Mandalore Mandalorian behind for the ideology of the New Mandalorians. I doubted she'll all of a sudden change her beliefs and start wearing traditional armor to show solidarity with the average Mandalorian.

I predict White Silver would be betrayed by The Duchess and her lackeys who would then come down harder on the average Mandalorian once White Silver had outlived her usefulness. There was no way she would let any threat, even one that seemed to believe that they were on the same side, exist.

I know that would be interesting to watch. That would create true chaos in Mandalore and possibly create the environment needed to overthrow her. It would lead to a three-way fight between the Silvers, the News, and Death Watch; but chaos is where the true Mandalore is crowned. You can get as many votes as you want, but strength of arms and the determination to win are what true leaders require.

Considering how easy Pre's rulership of the Mandalorians on Concordia had been, I almost thought he had gone soft. This new challenger would either toughen him up or he would lose, as is the way.

From what I had seen of White Silver, she had the abilities to participate in this "Great Hunt' just as effectively as Pre could. If she won in a contest against Pre, I'd probably side with her since she gave the feeling of a true Mandalorian, a controlled warrior. Helping her take the throne from the New Mandalorians would be well and good for the people. Assuming of course she won, if not I would stay with my family ties to House Vizsla. Either way, my homeworld of Krownest would be well and truly out of the conflict zone. Thanks to today, probably one of the most well-armed planets in the entire sector as well.

Smiling, I turned from the landing pads and walked into my shuttle, negotiating my way past several large boxes just full of gear, equipment, and other things that would be useful for my planet or could be sold for things that were useful. Eventually I found my way into the cockpit and pressed some buttons to close up the ship. It was absolutely full and probably at the limits of what it could carry while still being able to take off.

Pressing a few more buttons I plotted a course for home and sat back with a smile. This had been a good operation and spoke well of the future of the Mandalorian people. Two good choices for a future leader was always a good day for the Mandalorian people.

Concordia, Governor's Castle

Pre Vizsla

Looking outside my castle's window, I watched the skyline of Concordia whilst considering what the future might bring. Things were not looking good, not looking good at all considering the recent developments on Gargon. I took a sip from the glass of fine papuur'gal in my hand.

Trying to put together an anti-New Mandalorian League is one of the most difficult and strenuous tasks I have been given in my life. So many factions hated the New Mandalorians and so many factions had issues with the New Mandalorians that finding support to build a network of support should not be that hard.

The problem though, the one that always seemed to come up, was that while no one liked the New Mandalorians running the sector, they had been rather unintrusive for the last decade. So the less hard line parties were not exactly interested in rocking the boat as much as they used to be.

My opinion is that they would only become interested again if something were to happen outside the sector, such as the coming war between the breakaway Rim States and the Republic. That conflict will most likely present a massive opportunity for mercenaries, bounty hunters, and many other fields of martial skill for the Mandalorians.

Being the pacifist, there is no doubt Satine would put down some rules against taking active action in the whole affair, trying to prevent any violence. This would force more and more people to my side and was part of my plans to remove her from power.

The growing problem was that her hard line stance on pacifism had been softening over the last few years. She seemed to be becoming less of a fanatic for it and I suspected that could be an issue for me in the long run. If she decided to not institute any rules to prevent Mandalore from choosing a side in the coming conflict I would have nothing to use as a rallying cry of New Mando abuses against mandalorian culture.

How would that conflict begin? I wasn't sure yet but I could feel that I would know very soon. Until the conflict actually started, I had to make my decisions based on the disposition of those around me and prior to now it was one where Satine would most likely do something to piss off the moderate hardliners and send them back to my side.

At least that had been everyone's disposition before Gargon, watching the first White Silver get knocked down by the second White Silver, who knew if she was the real White Silver or not but she had definitely defeated the first one. This presented an issue because obviously this new White Silver represented a potential heir to the title of Mand'alor. Even if she denied the leadership title now, she would most likely act in the upcoming conflict, where Satine will be forced to abstain. I can see it now, the moment the Duchess made a move to make sure Mandalore stayed out of the war, I would need to act fast. Because if I was not successful in my coup–in removing her from power or killing her–this White Silver would take up the role as my main opponent.

And that would be a major problem for my plans making Mandalore great again. As long as it was just me versus the Duchess, the centrists who disliked the New Mandalorian's pacifism would side with me as they would prefer to get rid of the Duchess. But if it becomes a fight between my Death Watch and these Silver Mandalorians, well it'll result in the next Mandalorian Civil War just without a Mandalore playing both sides against each other. That would be bad for the image of Death Watch as more connections would be drawn between my Death Watch and my uncle's Death Watch.

Considering how brutal that prior incarnation of Death Watch had ended up being, it would not be good for recruitment and could be the end of the whole business right away. I would need to be careful, a lot more careful than I had been planning for, just because this White Silver may reappear at any time and raise an army to fight me. I would need to also think of a strategy to undercut the New Mandalorian's new ally, but how? The Silver Mandalorians are going to follow their leader and their leader had basically stated they followed the Duchess since she was duly elected.

Perhaps I could undermine this mindset by showing that that election was a bit of a farce. Shake the confidence in their leadership's understanding of history and maybe they would not remain die-hard supporters. Perhaps force a few of them to consider other Mandalores, ones with a proper election of Clan Leaders.

A man could dream but perhaps I should look into finding more supporters outside the sector. So far the Silver Codex is really only taking off inside the sector. Mandalorians who were part of the Diaspora were either ambivalent or never heard of it. If I could find supporters from outside the sector, they could provide weapons, arms, and equipment, not to mention the manpower needed in case the operation went under. Supposedly, I would have a droid army delivered to me. I have been on schedule for our plan to make Death Watch look like the true heroes of the situation merely waiting for when Satine obviously failed to prevent the Republic from invading Mandalore, as they always tend to do whenever a problem showed up.

But trusting Dooku for everything was unlikely to work out. He was a former Jedi and there was one thing that I knew about Jedi, they don't like Mandalorians. I am sure he was planning to use me as much as I was planning to use him, which was why I needed backup plans now more than ever. There are plenty of other leaders of the Separatists that I could talk to including Alzar. A few who were part of Mandalorian culture that might be willing to support our operations to free Mandalore from the Republic's tyranny and the New Mandalorian overseers they had installed.

The question now is which one to work with in order to obtain the best deal? I didn't trust these other groups, much as they didn't trust me. I was sure they would want to take over the Mandalorian sector if they got the chance and damn the Darksaber. They wouldn't consider it a valid claim to the throne of Mandalore just as they had never considered the various 'original' Masks of Mandalore which had popped up over the last 3000 years since the original went missing as grounds for valid claims.

I needed to plan and think, come up with a solution that would allow for a successful coup and removal of the Duchess. Otherwise I'd have to just give up and consider the truly distasteful possibility that the Old Ways might really be on their way out.